Nidoran♀ Line/RBY
Nidoran♀ is available in Route 22 and the Safari Zone in all three games. In Red and Blue, it can also be traded for a Nidoran♂ on Route 5. In Yellow, it can also be found on Routes 2, 9 and 10. Nidorina can also be found in the Safari Zone, or traded for a Nidorino on Route 11, in Red and Blue only. In Yellow, Nidorina can also be found on Routes 9 and 23. Moon Stones are available in Route 2, Mt. Moon, the Rocket Hideout and the Pokémon Mansion. What is Nidoqueen? It would be easier to say what it is not. The Nido lines are so versatile that they can almost be everything one wants them to be. While their physical movepool becomes good only from Celadon onwards, and not exceptional, they have nifty special moves in their arsenal and get good coverage from early on, in the form of Water Gun and BubbleBeam, both of which allow them to face even what would otherwise be their sworn enemy: the Geodude line, and the few other lines with Rock/Ground typing. Nidoqueen is the perfect Pokémon for beginners to have: it's strong, evolves really early (with a Moon Stone available around the time Nidoran becomes a Nidorina), and is overpowered for a good chunk of the early game, providing counters for whatever the team is lacking, until Pokémon with better stats are available; even experienced players will never disdain a member of these lines, as they can make themselves useful in countless ways and in nearly every single team, no matter its structure. Important Matchups - Yellow = * Rival (Route 22, optional): Spearow's Peck deals about as much damage as Scratch, but Spearow is also near-guaranteed to outspeed; without any healing, the matchup will be lost. The one against Eevee is easily won by Scratch spamming instead, though it may eventually force the switch with Sand-Attack. * Gym #1 - Brock (Pewter City, Rock-type): Double Kick easily wins against Geodude, resulting in an average 3-turn KO. Onix can be KOed in one additional turn, and its Tackle cannot compare with Double Kick damage, but Bide is the catch: should it use it above half health, the unleashed energy is highly likely to off at least one Pokémon unless only one Double Kick is used and the teammate taking the Bide payback has at least 25-30 HP left. * Rival (Cerulean City): Nidoqueen's Double Kick KOs Spearow in three to four turns, and both Rattata and Eevee in just two. Sandshrew should preferably be 2-3HKOed with Water Gun, but can also be KOed in more turns with Double Kick. * Gym #2 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Nidoqueen's Double Kick disposes of Staryu in an average of 3-4 turns, more than its Water Gun takes to down Nidoqueen. Starmie's BubbleBeam is too strong, even for Nidorina; it results in a net 3HKO, and beats even Nidoqueen that may already know Body Slam. * Rival (S.S. Anne): BubbleBeam scores a 3HKO against Spearow and a 2HKO against Sandshrew; Rattata and Eevee are KOed in one-two turns each by Double Kick. * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Nidoqueen's Electric immunity gives it a rather easy time in this gym, despite its inability to learn Dig. Raichu goes down to Body Slam in an average of four turns, though it may take Nidoqueen longer if it uses Growl repeatedly; its Mega Kick deals as much damage as Body Slam, though unlike Body Slam, it has a relatively high miss rate and cannot cause paralysis. Either paralysis or one Mega Kick miss will guarantee Nidoqueen victory, excluding possible critical hits on Raichu's end. Note that, starting at -2 Attack, BubbleBeam deals more damage than Body Slam. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): A trip to Celadon City is recommended before this fight, as Nidoqueen will then gain access to Ice Beam, which cleanly 2HKOs Fearow as well as OHKOing Sandshrew. Shellder is 1-2HKOed by Thunderbolt, Vulpix is 2-3HKOed by BubbleBeam; Magnemite is 3HKOed by Body Slam. Eevee is KOed in 2-3 turns by Double Kick, but can also be 3-4HKOed by Body Slam. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): BubbleBeam OHKOs both Onix and Rhyhorn; Persian is KOed in three turns with Double Kick. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Ice Beam scores a 3HKO against all of Erika's Pokémon. Sleep heals should be brought to this gym, as both Weepinbell and Gloom know Sleep Powder. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Nidoqueen outspeeds and outdamages all three of the Venonat despite their Psychic, 3-4HKOing them all with Thunderbolt or Ice Beam. It should avoid Venomoth instead, which can 3HKO with Psychic. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Ice Beam or Thunderbolt can easily 3HKO both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan before they do the same. * Rival (Silph Co.): Sandslash's lack of Ground moves make it a perfect Ice Beam target, 2HKOed by the move. Ninetales is best 3-4HKOed by BubbleBeam, but can also be 4HKOed with Body Slam if Nidoqueen no longer knows the other move; Body Slam will also eventually KO Magneton, usually in four turns. Cloyster can be 2HKOed with Thunderbolt, but its Clamp can KO in at least five turns; Nidoqueen will need to be healed or switched out if Clamp is used. Kadabra outpowers Nidoqueen, 3HKOing with Confusion; so does Vaporeon, with Aurora Beam, though Nidoqueen can beat Flareon with BubbleBeam and Jolteon with Body Slam, both average 4HKOs. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Nidorino and the enemy Nidoqueen are 3HKOed by Ice Beam, which 2HKOs Rhyhorn as well; Persian is 4HKOed, but none of its moves can do any better to Nidoqueen. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Abra has no damaging moves, and can be KOed by anything. Kadabra and Alakazam completely crush Nidoqueen. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): Earthquake can 2HKO Ninetales, which only 4HKOs with Flamethrower, though Nidoqueen should be wary of its Confuse Ray shenanigans and switch out as needed. Rapidash is fast and may spam Fire Spin, preventing Nidoqueen from attacking, but if it eventually fails and Nidoqueen breaks through, the KO will come swiftly. Nidoqueen also wins against Arcanine, 2HKOing with Earthquake, against its only-3HKO Fire Blast. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Dugtrio 2-3HKOs Nidoqueen with Earthquake and can theoretically be defeated with Ice Beam, but leaving Nidoqueen on the battlefield for too long is extremely dangerous, especially as its Fissure can actually strike. Persian 3HKOs with Slash, but Nidoqueen's Earthquake oscillates between 2-3HKO range as well, making the matchup unfavourable. The enemy Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon are all 2HKOed, the first two by Earthquake and the last one 1-2HKOed by Surf, but their Earthquake can also 2HKO Nidoqueen, so facing them is a game of luck based on who gets the first critical hit. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): Ice Beam remains a 2HKO against Sandslash and Exeggcute, while Magneton and Ninetales can now be 1-2HKOed with Earthquake. Kadabra still wins with Psychic, 2HKOing Nidoqueen, as does Cloyster if it uses Clamp, though Thunderbolt will otherwise 2HKO. Earthquake can 2HKO Jolteon and Flareon easily, though Vaporeon remains unsurmountable with Hydro Pump. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Nidoqueen is likely to win against Dewgong, whose Aurora Beam is a 3-4HKO against Nidoqueen's 2-3HKO Thunderbolt. The move 2HKOs Cloyster as well, though by staying in, Nidoqueen is risking getting hit by Clamp. Slowbro's Amnesia makes its Surf and Psychic even bigger threats than normal, and it should be avoided; instead, Nidoqueen can take on Jynx, 2HKOed by Earthquake while its Ice Punch is only a 3HKO. It should not come close to Lapras, whose Blizzard 2HKOs the queen. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Both of the Onix are destroyed by Surf, and even Ice Beam can OHKO them. Hitmonchan is 2-3HKOed by any of the special moves, but should not be hit by Earthquake, as its Counter can otherwise off Nidoqueen even from full health; Hitmonlee, instead, is 2HKOed by Nidoqueen's STAB, whereas Machamp is 3HKOed by it. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Earthquake OHKOs Haunter and the lead Gengar, 1-2HKOs the ace Gengar and Arbok, and Golbat is 2HKOed by Thunderbolt or Ice Beam. Nidoqueen needs to be kept awake, however; if Haunter or either Gengar uses Hypnosis, they can then sweep and regain health with Dream Eater. The lead Gengar also knows Psychic, but the move only 3HKOs Nidoqueen, with an abysmal 2HKO chance; its Confuse Ray is a bigger threat than Psychic. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): Gyarados will 2HKO with Hydro Pump unless outsped, in which case Nidoqueen's Thunderbolt will net the 2HKO; both of the Dragonair are 2HKOed by Ice Beam, and their Hyper Beam is rather weak, 4HKOing at best. Aerodactyl is 2HKOed by any of the three special moves. Beating Dragonite is harder: both its Hyper Beam and Nidoqueen's Ice Beam 2HKO, and Dragonite outspeeds, though Nidoqueen will win if its health is well over half by the time it engages in battle, unless Dragonite scores a critical hit. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Sandslash's Earthquake is a 2HKO, but Nidoqueen can anticipate it by 2HKOing with Ice Beam or Surf. Alakazam's Psychic remains unbeatable; Exeggutor can be 4HKOed with Ice Beam, if Nidoqueen gets past its Hypnosis combined with the likely Leech Seed. Earthquake is a 2HKO against both Ninetales and Magneton, but in Ninetales' case, Nidoqueen needs to break through the likely Fire Spins to actually hit; Jolteon and Flareon are 2HKOed by it, too, though neither Cloyster nor Vaporeon should be fought by Nidoqueen, as both can 2HKO with Ice Beam and Hydro Pump respectively. * Post-Game: Although Nidoqueen is great, Mewtwo is the last thing it should be thinking about fighting against. }} Moves Nidoran's level up movepool is somewhat different in Red and Blue, compared to Yellow. In all three games, it starts with Growl and Tackle, and then learns Scratch at level 8; it only gets Double Kick in Yellow, however, at level 12. Then, Poison Sting comes at 14 in Red and Blue, and at 17 in Yellow, but as Nidoran; Nidorina will learn it at 19 in the same game. As Nidorina, it learns... absolutely nothing worthy of interest. Tail Whip comes at 23 in Red and Blue, while it's accessible at 27 in Yellow; Bite is learned at 32 in the first two games and at 36 in the last. Fury Swipes comes around at 41 in the originals, and 46 in the third. And then, at long last, level 50 sports Double Kick for Red and Blue players too, which unlike the level 12 equivalent in Yellow serves absolutely no good at all, especially as Nidorina will never stay unevolved for that long. Nidorina should be evolved as early as possible, as Nidoqueen learns Body Slam naturally at level 23, which is a very good move. The main strength of both Nidoran lines, however, is the fantastic TM access that they get in this generation, one that is unlike any other. The special triptych alone covers wonderfully for nearly anything: Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and their more powerful but less accurate alternatives, plus Fire Blast - strangely enough, not Flamethrower - are more than enough to wreck face for a good while even with Nidoqueen's average Special stat. Surf complements this coverage well too, for Nidoqueen that are well trained in Special; however, consider carefully whether to teach Surf to Nidoqueen or not, because there is no Move Deleter in this generation. On the physical side, the only really good options are Earthquake, an obvious must have, and Rock Slide, with Submission being a passable complement, but usually not as good as other moves. Recommended moveset: Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Surf / Fire Blast Recommended Teammates * Water-types: Water does the best of jobs that Nidoqueen cannot, resisting half its weaknesses and delivering super effective STAB damage to Ground Pokémon. A Water-type alone is plentiful to complete Nidoqueen's role on the team. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Blastoise, Golduck, Poliwrath, Tentacruel, Slowbro, Dewgong, Starmie, Gyarados, Lapras, Vaporeon, Omastar * Psychic-types: Since there are no proper counters for Psychic-types in old Kanto, the best possible answer is a fellow Psychic-type, which provides a resistance to Psychic moves as well as (in some cases) Normal coverage to hit them. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Alakazam, Slowbro, Hypno, Exeggutor, Starmie, Mr. Mime, Jynx Other Nidoran♀'s stats Nidorina's stats Nidoqueen's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Right away. With Nidoqueen being a nigh-unstoppable powerhouse and learning Body Slam so early, and Nidorina's level-up moves being really bad, there is no reason to wait a second longer than whatever it takes to find the first Moon Stone. You should have a Nidoqueen before Cerulean City. * How good is the Nidoran♀ line in a Nuzlocke? Great. Broken in the early game, and powerful throughout. It almost always has an answer to whatever it is thrown at, and rarely needs to back off from a fight afraid that something bad might actually happen. Its bulk is very good for this generation, too, and the substantial lack of Ground moves until the late game, as well as powerful Water moves, makes it even better. Ten out of ten, would train again. Nidoran♀'s and Nidorina's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Ground, Psychic, Bug * Resistances: Fighting, Grass, Poison * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Ghost, Fire, Dragon, Electric, Rock, Ice, Water Nidoqueen's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Ground, Psychic, Bug, Ice, Water * Resistances: Fighting, Rock, Poison (x0.25) * Immunities: Electric * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Ghost, Fire, Dragon, Grass Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses